Ang Buhay at ang Beyblade

I think this piece of writing should be read because it shows the different hardships in life like poverty, sickness, etc. If you were able to read the short story, you will realize the pain that Rebo is experiencing due to his sickness called Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. In the story, it was shown how he slowly became bald and how he had hard time breathing. The other kind of hardship that was shown in the short story was poverty. It was shown in the story how Rebo’s father managed his inadequate P300-daily earning as a school teacher to provide for his family.

I think the one who should read this short story are the people who always encounter problems and hardships in their respective lives. With Rebo’s father’s situation, the readers could benefit by helping them face and go through the problems they are encountering. After reading the story, I also think the readers will definitely live their respective lives to the fullest. I think they will cherish their remaining time on earth. Like what was mentioned in the story, anything that Rebo wanted would be given to him immediately by his father—like when his father gave him a surprise birthday party even though it really was not his birthday and the other time when Rebo tried to convince his father to buy candies for him.

One weakness I saw in the story was the role of the father. I think the father’s role as a teacher was not given enough attention by the author of the story. There where only few scenes in the story that mentioned him being a teacher. I think if the author just gave the father’s role more attention, the readers could benefit by knowing the hardships of being a teacher like insufficient salaries and not enough respect given to them by most people. I think the different issues about teachers are the political statements that the story wants to convey to its readers.

On the other hand, a strength I saw in the story was Rebo’s “connection” with his beyblade toy.

“Wala na ang beyblade at ang may-ari nito. Payapa na silang nakahimlay sa loob ng kabaong. Magkasamang tutungo sa lugar na walang sakit, gutom, at walang hirap. Payapang magpapaikot at iikot.”

When the beyblade is being thrown inside the “arena” to be played against other beyblades, I think it is also what is happening to Rebo, who is trying to hang on and go through the most grueling moments of his life. And the end of the beyblade’s spin inside the arena signifies that it is also the end of Rebo’s four-year journey in life.

Teacher talk

Different kinds of people usually guest Tina Monzon-Palma’s radio show “Talk Back” aired on DZMM every Monday to Friday at 8 p.m.

In one episode, recipients of the Outstanding Teacher Awards of the Metrobank Foundation were the guests of the show.

Monzon-Palma introduced that night’s guests and they told her how they won their respective awards.

The recipients recalled the process on how they won the awards. They said they had an actual demonstration teaching in front of the judges. They were allowed to discuss a topic on which they specialize. Then, they were asked to make a 40-minute lesson plan to be shown to the judges. “It was a challenge,” one of the teachers said as he recalled that the most difficult part was explaining their topics to the judges and making them understand what they were trying to say—especially when a judge was listening to a topic that he’s not an expert in.

During the episode, the teachers talked about their meaningful experiences regarding their profession. They also talked about their different strategies on how to encourage their students in studying harder so they could have a more positive attitude in what they want to achieve in the future.

One of the guests was Dr. Fred Laureles. He teaches mostly about Industrial Arts and Work Education and has been teaching for 36 years.

Laureles told Monzon-Palma about his experiences on dealing with students who don’t work hard. In dealing with these kinds of students, he said that the first lesson he teaches them are the values of responsibility and discipline.

He said that being responsible and disciplined are crucial components of having a successful life.

“No problems will happen to them (children) if they just know how to give importance to these values,” Laureles said in Filipino.

As a Work Education teacher for grade four students, he first teaches them about basic cooking. He discusses to his students that rice, being a staple food in the country, is one of the most important food staples that should be cooked—and should be learned by everyone. He also teaches his students how to fry food like eggs and hotdogs. And when he is asked by his students, he gladly teaches them how to do simple kinds of snacks like “Banana-Q.”

“All people eat,” the veteran teacher said as he discussed the importance of knowing how to cook.

As an Industrial Arts teacher on the other hand, he teaches his students on basic woodworking and carpentry. He teaches them the correct way of hammering. He said that it’s a “skill” to be able to know these things.

With all the things Laureles had said during the radio show, he concluded that “it’s important to experience the simple things in life and learn from those experiences. That’s the way to achieve success in life.”

Another guest in the show was Dr. Saloma. He has a doctorate degree in Physics and has been teaching for 34 years.

Saloma said that he really wanted to be a scientist when he was a kid. His love for Science was evident when he mentioned that when he was still a kid in his hometown Bohol, he would normally gaze the sky at night and ask himself how he could go to the moon.

His hometown in Baklayon, Bohol was near the sea. It was where he found about fishing, boats, and scooters, and car bearings. He saw children playing with those kinds of things and they treated them as toys. He said that he was amazed about the children’s imagination and creativity. A friend of him once built a microscope from a flashlight. His friend showed him using the improvised microscope that ants were really hairy.

His experiences as a kid in his hometown made him more interested in becoming a scientist. He said that with his experiences, he is now concentrating on the “improvement of instruments using accuracy and precision that could examine nature.

His father’s influence also made him more interested in Science. Laureles, who teaches students from the Philippine Science High School System, said that parents are the most important inspiration in pursuing the students’ future endeavors.

He concluded by saying that “anything could be done when one has the imagination.”

Another guest in the show was Leticia Palyez. She is a Master Teacher in Malaybalay Central School in Malaybalay, Bukidnon and she has been teaching for 34 years.

Palyez teaches Mathematics to her students. And when asked about her strategies on dealing with her students, she said that initially, she gives them a diagnostic test so she could determine beforehand their different weaknesses. That way, she could prepare on what topics should be given more importance during their discussions.

But her most effective strategy, she shares, was singing tunes and jingles from popular novelty songs and lyrics that are about their subject matter for that day like measurements and place values. He said that children are good in memorization especially when they hear those kinds of popular songs. It would be easy for them to memorize. She even presented her “concept” to the Bukidnon State College and the people there told her to continue doing it.

When all the teachers had already spoken, Tina Monzon-Palma asked them what their final messages were about having good education for their students. All the teachers agreed that students should possess the “basic tools” in having a successful life. They said that they should have a positive attitude towards reading. They should not only treat reading as a requirement given to them by their teachers but they should also have the “love” for reading. “Reading books is the first step in having a successful life,” they concluded.

Batang Rizal critique

Christine Bellen’s Batang Rizal is about the celebration of the Buwan ng Wika in the Philippines. It was held at the PETA Theater Center in New Manila, Quezon City. The play is also about the celebration of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal. The play showed Rizal’s childhood—how he did something and what he thought of.

The play started in showing the life of the students of the Jose Rizal Elementary School. Then, the play showed how they prepared for the upcoming Buwan ng Wika. They prepared for various production numbers and plays for the said celebration. While they were preparing, the city’s mayor, Mayor Rapku, went to their school. He went for the construction of Jose Rizal’s monument in the school worth P200,000. When he knew that his statue was missing, he asked for the school’s principal to find it. The principal said to her students to find the statue so the mayor won’t be mad at them. One student admitted that he broke the statue so he hid it. When the mayor knew about this, he said to the principal he will close the school if they didn’t find a way to fix it. When the student who broke the statue knew what’s going to happen, he immediately thought of a plan to fix the problem. When he was reading a book about Rizal, something magical happened and the book brought the boy to Laguna during Rizal’s childhood. The student was shocked when he saw Rizal as a kid. During his stay in Laguna, he saw how the Rizal family lived their respective lives. After that, he asked “Pepe” to help him fix his problem about the statue. Pepe agreed to help him in exchange for touring him in the modern times. When they returned to the present time, the student introduced them to his schoolmates. At first, the students didn’t believe it was really Rizal but eventually, they believed him after he answered the “test” about him. Then, they thought of a plan to fix the problem. When Pepe already thought a plan to solve the problem, he told his plan to his newfound friends. When the mayor went back to their school, he wanted to see the reconstructed statue. When the mayor knew that the statue wasn’t fixed yet, he got dismayed because the statue was so expensive. The students said that a statue isn’t needed to celebrate a person’s heroism. The important thing is that what the person did is in our hearts and minds. The mayor thought about it and realized that the students were right so he forgave them and didn’t close the school. When the problem was already solved, it was time for Pepe to go home back to his time. When he knew that he was going to be killed during his time in exchange for him being a hero, he had second thoughts of coming back. He said he’s afraid to go back because he wasn’t ready to die. The students said he needed to go back because it was what really happened in history and it can’t be changed. Even though he was afraid, he eventually had the courage to come back because what happened was for the country.

Even though the theme of the play was a bit “childish,” I still think I watched a relevant and significant play. I still learned some things about the play. I realized that the students were right on what they said about Rizal’s statue. A statue wasn’t really needed to celebrate a person’s heroism. We just need to put to mind what he did for the country. As a result, we have already built a “statue” of the hero inside us. Not only we should think about what the person did, we should also emulate what he did so we could be “heroes” in our own little ways.

House of Hoops

House of Hoops is a TV show aired on ABC 5 every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. It’s hosted by Vitto Lazatin, Bobby Yan, and Lia Cruz and it shows a featured National Basketball Association (NBA) game for the day and also shows statistics and the latest news in the NBA.

Before showing the game, Lazzatin, Yan, and Cruz tell their thoughts about the featured game. They say which team they believe is going to win the game based on the respective team’s standing, winning streak and other factors.

Then, they invite a person who’s had lots of experience regarding basketball. He/she may be a coach, a basketball player, or anyone who has got knowledge about the game. The said guest will also talk about his/her thoughts on the current situation in the NBA and which team is going to win the game.

As a journalism student, I think watching House of Hoops will help me hone my communication skills. When watching, I get to see how Vitto Lazatin and Lia Cruz analyze and talk about the featured basketball game. I get to learn how they talk, their hand gestures, and everything needed to be done about sports casting. Also as a journalism student, I write different kinds of news and feature stories—and sports writing is what I love to do the most. For me to become an effective sports writer, I have to have knowledge about the game. So, by watching the said TV show, I can be able to pick up important lessons for me to apply them when I write sports stories.

Aside from sports writing, I also would like to become a sports broadcaster when I graduate. Since I was a kid, I loved to play basketball. I was a basketball varsity player in high school and I am currently a player for the Journalism Society Basketball Team. I think my love for the game of basketball has also influenced me to become part of the sports broadcasting industry as well. Being in the said industry will not make me a living; it will also give me the chance to be part of something that I really loved since the beginning—which is basketball. Because for me, basketball is not just a game—it’s my passion and it’s my life.

Smoking 101

Writer and humorist Mark Twain once said: “To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did. I ought to know because I did it a thousand times.”

Why is it hard to quit smoking?

This and other questions were raised in August 28’s episode of “The Correspondents,” – a late-night news and current affairs show on ABS-CBN.

In Tuesday’s episode entitled: “Nagbabaga, Sunog-baga,” Tony Velasquez discussed the negative (and positive) effects of smoking.

As most people know, smoking has negative effects like Lung cancer, Emphysema, heart attacks, and according to a latest study—blindness.

Statistics

According to statistics, more than half of the Filipino population is not smoke-free—either from firsthand or secondhand smoke.

In another data, 200,000 Filipinos have smoking-related diseases per year.

A survey in 2003 said that the Philippines ranks first in the world in terms of smoking population. According to the survey, 30 percent of Filipinos are smokers, which mean that 20 million Filipinos ranging from 17-75 years old are smokers. The Philippines is followed by Singapore, which has 24.2 percent of their population as smokers. Then, the Americans ranked third, with 24.1 percent of their population as smokers—a .1 percent difference from Singapore.

In one of the show’s featured stories, smoking proved that it also has positive effects.

Smoking doctor

The show featured a senior citizen doctor who still smokes.

Doctors would normally ask their respective patients to quit smoking because it would result in life-threatening illness. But this doctor was different.

Dr. Eric Pascasio, a 76-year-old internist/general practitioner, smokes at least two packs of cigarettes per day.

He even recommends his patients to smoke. He said that based on his experience, smoking has not really proven to have negative effects.

When his patients come to his clinic in his house, he would smoke in front of them as if he was puffing to a rooster as it gets ready to have a cockfight.

Anyone would notice his “love” for smoking because when The Correspondents’ crew went inside his house for the interview, ashtrays were scattered everywhere. He even showed the crew his ashtray inside their bathroom.

He also showed the crew where he keeps his empty cigarette packs. He said that he keeps them because there may be a cigarette promo in the future.

He recalled that even when his wife was already sleeping, he would still hold a cigarette stick and smoke until he got sleepy.

His wife and his children would normally ask him to stop smoking but he won’t listen to them. His wife and children, one of them is also a doctor, are not smokers.

“Without my smoking, I would have died when I was younger,” the senior chain-smoker said.

Celebrity challenge

Another featured story of the show was a celebrity challenge on Uma Khouny, a former Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Housemate. Khouny, a certified smoker, was challenged to see how long he could resist the smoking temptation.

The challenge started at 9 a.m. After one hour, he was okay. After three hours, he was getting restless. He was also getting talkative.

The challenge was supervised by the cameraman to monitor Khouny’s behavior and to know when he will give up the challenge.

He jokingly offered 200 pesos and his car keys in exchange for the cameraman to turn off the camera so the audience would not see that he is already smoking.

Finally, Uma Khouny gave up the challenge at 5 p.m. He lasted for eight hours. He said that he could not take it anymore. It was like a record for him on his eight-hour “abstinence.”

Smoking kids of Payatas

Another featured story was about the smoking children of Payatas, Quezon City.

Buboy, Choy, and Ken, all 12 years old, are Payatas children who knew how to smoke when they were just ten years old.

They knew how to smoke because of their older friends. They would often be “neglected” by their friends if they would not smoke. Worried by this, they would be forced to smoke so they could maintain their friendship with them.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that people learned to smoke from advertisements and from peer pressure.

Another data from WHO said that the Philippines has the most young smokers in the world and that one of five young Filipinos knew how to smoke when they were just ten years old.

Many anti-smoking campaigns were launched in the past like Senator Juan Flavier’s “Yosi: Kadiri” Campaign and Philippine General Hospital’s ongoing campaign: “Stop Smoking Clinic.” This is a program wherein people who join are taught how to stop smoking for four weeks. The program has been successful since it started.

Many people have been successful in quitting smoking like Dick Abeleda—who quit his 40-year-old smoking habit because of a near growth of a malignant tumor. He also quit smoking because one of his children suffered Tuberculosis while he was still smoking.

As long as smoking is still present in the lives of people, there will still be the problems accompanying it.